Kabul, 22 August 2003 (RFE/RL) -- Suspected Taliban loyalists have burned down a girls' school in Afghanistan's Logar Province. General Hatiqulluh Luddin, a regional military commander, said the Abu Sofian girls' school, which was housed in a tent some 50 kilometers south of Kabul, was set ablaze on Wednesday (20 August) night.

Luddin blamed the arson, which was also reported by state-run television, on local "extremists." He said that in the past week, local authorities have found 30 leaflets threatening anyone who cooperates with the U.S.-backed central government.

Under the former Taliban regime, which was toppled by a U.S.-led military coalition in late 2001, girls were prohibited from attending school in Afghanistan.